Tigers nip M. Golf to capture Ivy crown

The Quakers led after round one, but a blistering Princeton finish put Penn in second place. The Penn's men's golf team finished in second place in the Ivy League Championships held at the Metedeconk Golf Course in Jackson, N.J., this past weekend. The Quakers finished with a three-day total of 904, nine shots behind the victorious Princeton Tigers. "Princeton played as well as they could," Penn junior Todd Golditch said. "No one lost this tournament, they won it -- they deserved it. There is always next year." For Penn senior captain and two-time All-Ivy selection Rob Goldfaden, there is no next year. "We didn't play as well as we would have like to," Goldfaden said. "We definitely could have beaten them." On a high note for Penn, freshman Chad Perman finished in second place overall. Perman shot 73-73-75 to finish only two shots back of Princeton freshman Nat Hoopes. Penn's Kyle Moran finished tied for third with Judd Pritchard of Princeton by shooting 71-77-75. Both Moran and Perman earned first team All-Ivy honors. Quakers freshman Endel Liias finished a respectable 11th, with scores of 77-77-76. Senior captain Goldfaden struggled in rounds one and three with an 81 and 80, respectively. Goldfaden finished in 14th place with a three-round total of 231. Golditch rounded out the Quaker's starting five with a three-round total of 241. After round one of the tournament, the Quakers found themselves in a very fortuitous position -- first place. The Quakers shot a terrific 301 behind Moran's 71. Round two of the championship was also scheduled to be played on Saturday but was delayed due to darkness. "We were in a great position on Saturday when play was stopped," Golditch said. "Rob [Goldfaden] was at four-under par, and Endel [Liias] was already in with a 77." Unfortunately for the Quakers, Princeton pieced together the tournament's best round, a one-over-par 289, behind the steady play of freshman Hoopes. For Goldfaden though, it wasn't the outstanding play of the Tigers that irritated him. "Unfortunately, the darkness broke up a good rhythm that I was in," Goldfaden said. "Obviously there was nothing I could do. It was getting dark, but it would have been nice to finish on Saturday and not wake up early Sunday to be on the course at 8 a.m." The only teams stranded on the course in round two were Dartmouth and the Quakers. Goldfaden played the last three holes in two over par; Moran finished with a 77; and Golditch posted an 81. Before the Quakers began the final round, they had lost their lead and faced a five-shot deficit. The Quakers finished strong with a third-round total of 306, four shots behind long-time rival Princeton. "If someone told me before the tournament that the winner would break 900, I never would believe it," Golditch said. Penn will travel to Princeton, N.J., this weekend to finish off its season at the Princeton Invitational. "It would be nice to beat Princeton at Princeton," Goldfaden said, "But it wouldn't make up for losing the Ivies."

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